A Note from The Principal

Reminder – School is closed on Monday 3rd September for a Teacher Only Day.

The swimming sports were a great event, with the house colours prominent and competition to the fore. The noise and enthusiasm of the girls was outstanding and there was a lovely community vibe and feel to the afternoon

I head off to Wellington this evening to support Sings Hilda in the Big Sing Finale. It is an outstanding achievement to be in the top 25 choirs in NZ and a real privilege, for me, to watch them perform. I know they will be wonderful advocates for music and our school.

I also want to wish all the teams competing in Tournament Week all the best. Invercargill, Dunedin, Gore and Taupo are the venues for our teams this year, and I am sure they will enjoy coming up against the best in the South Island, and in football’s case, NZ.

Thank you to all those parents who supported our recent Parent Seminars. We were delighted with the attendance last night with over 180 parents and friends of the school. We are very fortunate to have dedicated, passionate and expert staff such as Marcelle Nader-Turner, Shannon Prentice and Ange Rathbone, to present research, facts and strategies that support us all as parents and educators. The ensuing discussions and reflections on how best to assist our girls, are critical to their future growth and development. Please find below two video clips from the presentation, that you might find interesting. We have also videoed the presentation and will have that available on our website shortly.

Please have a scroll down this newsletter for further information on upcoming events, but also for the acknowledgement of some outstanding student achievements in technology, arts, literature and leadership. Such a diverse range of talents amongst the girls highlighted, each following their own path, enjoying the individual challenges and making the most of their unique talents. A wonderful testimony to the collective strengths and colour of our community

Jackie Barron

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Meg Rogers who won a 3rd Prize in The Harvey Norman Coding Challenge which is a joint initiative with Code Avengers. This challenge promotes coding skills that students have learned through Code Avengers’ online programming courses. There were over 1800 students who participated in this competition. Meg learned Python programming through the Code Avengers on-line learning site and independently completed the challenge while she was in Perth on her exchange.

Congratulations to Catherine Davidson who was a finalist in the 2018 National Poetry Awards with her amazing poem below. Part of her runner up prize is a masterclass at the International Institute of Modern Letters’

Mother and Child

The coastal landscape can be harsh,
strong winds lash the forest.
Yet the karaka tree
with a polished marble trunk,
grows strong.
Its foliage is dense,
sheltering new life.
Glossy green fruit follows
fuelled with the tree’s energy.

Time passes.
The fruit ripen to deep orange
connected to the branch by a stem,
which weakens as the fruit tissue swells.

One day
the final thread snaps.
The fruit plummets.
For the first time it is alone,
free-falling to an uncertain future.
The tree cannot dictate the fate of its fruit.

Congratulations to Issie Robertson and Olvia O’Neil who were presented with Otago Daily Times Class Act 2018 awards at the Otago Museum ceremony yesterday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. This award celebrates the excellence of young people in our province.

Benchmark Examinations

Our 2018 Benchmark examinations for Years 11 – 13 will be held in Week 8 and 9 (13th September – 19th September). Your daughter will need to attend examinations at the day and time given on the timetable they have. When she does not have an examination this time is for study, which can be done at home/hostel. The girls are welcome to come into school to study but will need to be aware the normal junior school programme will continue. Girls are not required to wear uniform during Examination Week.

These examinations will be run under the same conditions as the NZQA external examinations. I have emailed the details of these conditions to the girls and their parents/caregivers.

Reminder about Learning Conversations

Learning conversations will be held for all girls at the end of the term three and into term four on the following dates:

We have specified junior, senior, day girl and boarder to maximise the interview time.

Blues Application Process 2018

Applications for Cultural, Service and Sports Blues and Awards were announced at our full school assembly 31 August 2018.

These application links are located on the student homepage under the heading “Blues Application” and close on 14 September at 5:00 pm.

All successful applicants will be notified of their attendance at the invitation only Blues Awards evening by the end of September.

The Blues Award evening, an invitation only event, will be held on 26 October commencing at 7:00 pm in the School Chapel.

Junior Dances

The junior dances that had to be postponed will be held in the first week of Term Four. The Year 7&8 dance will be on Wednesday 17th October from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and the Year 9&10 dance will be on Thursday 18th October from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Guidance

During our recent parent seminars Marcelle Nader-Turner has been talking about the importance of self compassion. Click here to see what the recent research from Girls Leadership says about how learning self compassion can change your daughter’s life for the better.

Tolcarne News

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school, we will be talking with students and plan to run a Parent Seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

Please RSVP the school office by Monday 10th September if you plan to attend.

Return of 2017 Cups and Trophies

It is that time of year again where we ask for the return of all cups and trophies presented in 2017. This assists us in the preparation of this year’s awards evening and Prize Giving.

Careers News and Events

A reminder to check the Sports Draws page of the website to keep up to date with match times. The netball draws are posted each week in readiness for the weekend’s matches.

Student Achievement and coming up…

Good luck to the following teams who are away competing at winter sports tournament week next week. All teams have had very good seasons so far so we looking forward to seeing how they go at their respective tournaments:

Football 1st XI – NZSS Premier Football Tournament in Taupo

Basketball Senior A – SISS Basketball Tournament in Invercargill

Hockey 1st XI – Audrey Timlin Tournament in Invercargill

Rugby U15 Ten’s – Highlanders Region Ten’s Tournament in Gore

Netball Senior A and B – SISS Netball Tournament in Dunedin

Congratulations to the following girls who have been selected into Otago Women’s U21 Cricket Team for the 2018/2019 season:

Eden Carson

Emma Black

Olivia Gain

Megan Meltzer

Molly Loe

Well done to our Senior A Basketball team last Friday evening winning the Otago Secondary School Girls Senior A Grade Final 52 – 49 v Kavanagh College, this is the 5th year in a row St Hilda’s have won this competition

The Yr 7A and Yr 8A’s had a great day of Netball yesterday at the Otago Yr7/8 Netball Tournament. A massive congratulations to the Year 8A team for winning the Tournament.

A Note from The Principal

Reminder – School is closed on Monday 3rd September for a Teacher Only Day.

This is an important opportunity for staff to undertake professional learning and development on our special character and building positive learning relationships.

I was so proud this week to stand on the sidelines at the Hockey and Rugby finals. Not only did St Hilda’s make a clean sweep of the hockey finals, winning all four games, but I also watched our teams triumph in two rugby matches as well. Tight, pressured games, close scores, penalty shoot outs, last minute tries – the week of sporting drama had it all! I was really impressed with the calm, but determined, resilient attitudes of our athletes, and also delighted to see so many loud, passionate, and truly enthusiastic supporters on the sidelines as well. There really was a wonderful feeling of community and ‘Better Together’, and I am grateful for the assistance of parents who also helped everyone to be able to attend. Good luck to the other sporting codes, who still have finals ahead of them.

A special thanks too, to all the parents who have attended the Parent Seminars on Wellbeing. I am very grateful to have such high quality staff, who are prepared to be away from school and their families, to support our community and help us all develop strategies to assist our girls. Shannon Prentice, Marcelle Nader-Turner and Ange Rathbone, are a formidable, and passionate team, and we have had great feedback on the quality of their presentation, and the value of the knowledge they share. The last seminar is here in the school Chapel at 7.00pm on Thursday 30th August – and we look forward to seeing you there.

There is a lot happening at school at the moment, so please take the time to read all the parts of this newsletter –

Jackie Barron

Year 11-13 Subject Selection – Portal reminder

The portal to enter your daughters 2019 Year 11-13 subject selection is now open and will close again on Monday 27 August. The portal can be accessed via the Parent Portal and the link in the online Academic Programme. Please get in touch with the school office in the first instance if you have forgotten your login details.

Seminar Reminder: Please RSVP to the School Office

Anxiety, depression and unrelenting standards of perfection. How to Parent for Wellbeing

New Zealand is leading the world in appalling youth mental health statistics.

Come and hear what your daughters have told us about their own feelings and experiences and explore research based strategies on how to support our young women by parenting for Wellbeing.

This seminar will be really useful for all parents. You are welcome to bring friends, family and colleagues.

We all need to be involved in the increasingly important discussions around youth and wellbeing.

Dunedin – 7 pm Thursday 30 August – St Hilda’s Collegiate School

Please RSVP to the School Office

Reports and Learning Conversations

Today you will receive your daughter’s Interim Report. This report is focussed on her learning behaviours and attitude. These areas are crucial for developing flexible, resilient learners. Senior students will receive an NCEA progress report following benchmark examinations which will start on Thursday 13th September. This will be emailed out in Wk 10. Learning conversations will be held for all girls at the end of the term three and into term four on the following dates:

We have specified junior, senior, day girl and boarder to maximise the interview time.

Blues Application Process 2018

Applications for Cultural, Service and Sports Blues and Awards were announced at our full school assembly 31 August 2018.

These application links are located on the student homepage under the heading “Blues Application” and close on 14 September at 5:00 pm.

All successful applicants will be notified of their attendance at the invitation only Blues Awards evening by the end of September.

The Blues Award evening, an invitation only event, will be held on 26 October commencing at 7:00 pm in the School Chapel.

Junior Dances

The junior dances that had to be postponed will be held in the first week of Term Four. The Year 7&8 dance will be on Wednesday 17th October from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and the Year 9&10 dance will be on Thursday 18th October from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Chapel Matters

Sooner or later in life, we need to accept two truths that both the Bible and the theory of
evolution teach us: firstly, that life isn’t supposed to be easy, and secondly, that struggle can lead to growth. And in order to expand and evolve into the human beings that God wants us to be, we will inevitably need to reach out for resources that we don’t have yet; we will need to ask for help. Otherwise, if we feel that all our happiness and safety depends on us, we will be increasingly self-focused and anxious, and the story of our life will shrink to “me worrying about me for my sake.” But by practising using the simple prayer, “Help!” our life story can expand to “me trusting God to take care of me so I can focus on caring for others, for God’s sake.”

Anxiety tempts us to see catastrophe all around us, and we shrink into what Phoebe Palmer calls our primitive mind – we sink into reptilian scripts that limit our options to fight, flee or freeze. But by calling on God and others for help, we are able to reframe our anxieties into opportunities for growth. For example, if our reptilian brain tells us we need to fight because we feel threatened by someone, then we can ask for mercy to forgive them or wisdom to know how to work towards reconciliation with them. If our brain screams at us to flee because a situation is stressful, we can request patience to help us endure it or insight into why we are so reactive. If our brain whispers to us to freeze, because someone is mad at us, we can ask for courage to stand tall or humility to accept that we have done something wrong.

Whatever it is we are dealing with, there is an enormous power in simple words. In calling out, we might even discover the Compassionate God who is our gracious friend, and we don’t have to earn anything, deserve anything, or merit anything, to bring our needs to God.

Tolcarne News

Come along to our Spring Clothes Sale Fundraiser and freshen up your wardrobe for spring!

Date: Thursday, 13 September

Time: From 7pm

Location: St John’s Church Hall, 373 Highgate, Dunedin

Doors open at 7pm and you’ll be greeted with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine or juice on arrival and goody bags for the first 50 guests. There will be nibbles, tea and coffee available free of charge, and additional wine available to purchase.

100% of proceeds go to supporting Otago children to have safe, healthy and happy lives.

Health and Safety

Please do not encourage your daughter to walk along the school side of Royal Terrace where the building is progressing. She could be endangered with heavy equipment and truck movements.

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school, we will be talking with students and plan to run a parent seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

Return of 2017 Cups and Trophies

It is that time of year again where we ask for the return of all cups and trophies presented in 2017. This assists us in the preparation of this year’s awards evening and Prize Giving.

A Note from The Principal

We are really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Parent Seminars that we are holding, starting this Sunday. Thank you to those who have already signed up – we are delighted to be sharing important information and ideas with you. Please see details below and RSVP to the School Office if you intend to join us.

The Gala Concert the was a fabulous event last night, and it was great to see so many of you supporting your very talented daughters. It was a wonderful fundraiser for the Hip Hop, and Aerobics groups and Sings Hilda, as they all look to perform at their respective national championships in the near future.

A lot of the winter sports are coming to the business end of the season with semis and finals on the horizon. We wish all our teams the very best for these tight competitions

Back to the Future day is being held today, and it has been fantastic to welcome parents into our classrooms and let them experience what it is like to be a learner at St Hilda’s. Thank you to those parents who took up the opportunity and who have contributed to our classes for the day. What wonderful role models you are for your daughters!! #lifelonglearners

Jackie Barron

Seminars Reminder: Please RSVP to the School Office with an indication of which venue you will be attending.

Anxiety, depression and unrelenting standards of perfection. How to Parent for Wellbeing

New Zealand is leading the world in appalling youth mental health statistics.

Come and hear what your daughters have told us about their own feelings and experiences and explore research based strategies on how to support our young women by parenting for Wellbeing.

These workshops will be really useful for all parents. You are welcome to bring friends, family and colleagues to share these interactive workshops.

We all need to be involved in the increasingly important discussions around youth and wellbeing.

Please RSVP to the School Office with and an indication of which venue you will be attending.

Reports and Learning Conversations

Many thanks for your feedback around our reporting practices. We are always trying to make sure we are communicating on your daughter’s learning in the most effective way and your feedback will inform changes we make in future reporting. At the end of next week you will receive your daughter’s Interim Report. This report is focussed on her learning behaviours and attitude. These areas are crucial for developing flexible, resilient learners. Senior students will receive an NCEA progress report following benchmark examinations. This will be emailed out in Wk 10. Learning conversations will be held for all girls at the end of the term three and into term four.

Enrolment Process

From time to time the Board and staff field questions about the enrolment system and how a student can be assured of (or sometimes precluded from) a place with us.

The simple answer is that there is no way to “game” the system. As an integrated school, we have specific obligations surrounding our enrolment practices that we must adhere to.

Potential students must meet the special character preference criteria before becoming eligible for entry via the chronological order of application (for yr 7 applications received before the 1st October 2017) route or the ballot. Special character preference eligibility is determined by a sub-committee comprising 2 members of the Board of Proprietors and the Rev Dr Steven Benford, the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin. Members of the Board of Trustees, our Staff and our Principal have no input into that decision-making process.

Once special character eligibility has been determined, some applicants may gain preferential entry by virtue of having a sister at the school or by being the daughter of a current staff member.

Once those places are filled and assuming there are more potential students than places still available each remaining applicant is assigned a number. Those numbers are placed in a hat (well an ice-cream container in my experience!) and the numbers are drawn and recorded in sequence. The “draw” is undertaken by the BOT Chair or another Trustee and the Principal. Once the numbers are drawn they are matched to applicant names and offers of a place are made according to sequence in which the numbers were drawn from the ballot.

Year 11-13 Subject Selection – Portal reminder

The portal to enter your daughters 2019 Year 11-13 subject selection is now open and will close again on Monday 27 August. The portal can be accessed via the Parent Portal and the link in the online Academic Programme. Please get in touch with the school office in the first instance if you have forgotten your login details.

Chapel Matters

Over the last year or so, I have done a few chapels on the idea of cultivating a
Naked Spirituality. This is the idea that when we think of who we are as spiritual
beings, there is a real sense in which we have to strip away all our outer layers so
we can be true to who we really are. Spirituality is not about dressing up in our
Sunday best and participating in stuffy, starchy religiosity, but it is about attending
to the well-being of our naked, vulnerable souls.

Previously I have looked at three key words that start us on this path: “Here,”
“Thanks,” and “O!” This week I looked at the word “Sorry.” The ability to examine
ourselves, to admit mistakes, and to process failure, is a huge marker of a healthy
spirituality. Being able to be honest with God and with others about our wrongs,
failures, sins, faults, and other shameful secrets, keeps us humble and reminds us
that we are complex beings who have the capacity to change and become.

If we name our wrong while we breathe out, we can hold the word mercy, or grace, as we inhale. Breathing our regret, breathing in mercy: this is the life-sustaining rhythm of a naked spirituality – stripping away our pretence so we can stand before God as we truly are, with our hands and hearts open, letting go of our wrongs, and ready to receive compassion and grace and forgiveness.

Tolcarne News

Last weekend the Year 9 students enjoyed a fun trip to Leap to give the new Clip ‘n’ Climb facility a go. It was a great challenge, and the girls had a lot of fun. This weekend there are a few students heading to the Orokonui Bird Sanctuary to see the birds and go for a beautiful walk.

Mrs Rathbone had a financial and student loan tutorial with a few Year 13 students on Tuesday. She not only went over the ins and outs of how to apply for a student loan, but also went into detail about the PAYE system and how Kiwisaver works. It was very informative and the girls found it incredibly useful.

Janine Southby has come into Tolcarne a few times this term to talk to our Year 12 Boarding Leaders. Her focus has been on leadership; the different qualities and values of a leader, how leaders can be effective, highlighting all the different types of leaders there are, and how important public speaking. The Boarding Leaders have been given a lot to think about, and have begun to apply Janine’s advice to their roles in the hostel.

Health and Safety

Please do not encourage your daughter to walk along the school side of Royal Terrace where the building is progressing. She could be endangered with heavy equipment and truck movements.

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school, we will be talking with students and plan to run a parent seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

Return of 2017 Cups and Trophies

It is that time of year again where we ask for the return of all cups and trophies presented in 2017. This assists us in the preparation of this year’s awards evening and Prize Giving.

Careers News and Events

A reminder to check the Sports Draws page of the website to keep up to date with match times. The netball draws are posted each week in readiness for the weekend’s matches.

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Olivia O’Neill who recently returned from Kuala Lumpar competing for the New Zealand U18 Girls Touch Team in the Youth World Cup. Olivia and her team finished 2nd after an exciting but challenging 4 days of competition in 35 degree heat

A big congratulations to our Year 7 & 8 Netball Team who won the final this week.

Coming up…

A number of sports finals are being played next week, please see below for times and venues. Would be great to see you down there supporting the girls

A Note from The Principal

Congratulations to a number of our students who completed projects for the Otago regional Science and Technology Fair. There were some very good results which are in more detail in the achievements section. The prizegiving is being held on Sunday.

The Year 11 Dance was a wonderful evening enjoyed by all who attended, and we are grateful for the mature, positive and engaging approach the girls took to the event. They really made it a fabulous occasion and thanks go to Mrs McLanachan and Ms Corkery and the Year 11 Dance committee for their organisation and oversight.

Quad was also highly successful, with some great competition, tight games and competitive debates. It was great to be able to host this event and we would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who supported this event and to those families who hosted billets from visiting schools.

On Tuesday we held our course design evening. We started the night by looking at the ways the world and education are changing and what a successful graduate will need to flourish beyond school. We will share some resources from the evening on the parent portal for those who were unable to make it.

Coming up…

Good luck to our students in the Hip Hop Regionals that are being held today.

We are having a Gala Concert on Thursday at 6.30 pm, Otago Boys High School ( Advert below). This is a fundraiser for the St Hilda’s groups that are attending upcoming National Competitions in Wellington. Please come along and show your support.

We are really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the various Parent Seminars that we are holding. Please see details below. Please RSVP to the School Office if you intend to join us.

The Back to the Future day is next Friday. Please RSVP to the school office if you intend to come.

Jackie Barron

Gala Concert – Thursday 16 August

Seminars Reminder: Please RSVP to the School Office with an indication of which venue you will be attending.

Anxiety, depression and unrelenting standards of perfection. How to Parent for Wellbeing

New Zealand is leading the world in appalling youth mental health statistics.

Come and hear what your daughters have told us about their own feelings and experiences and explore research based strategies on how to support our young women by parenting for Wellbeing.

These workshops will be really useful for all parents. You are welcome to bring friends, family and colleagues to share these interactive workshops.

We all need to be involved in the increasingly important discussions around youth and wellbeing.

Please RSVP to the School Office with and an indication of which venue you will be attending.

Back to the Future

We would like to invite you in to experience what school is like in 2018.

On Friday 17th August we are going to run open classrooms. This will allow you to come and join in the learning. You will have the option of a morning or afternoon and within this time you will get to experience four classes.

The morning session will run from 8:30 am – 10:40 am

The afternoon session will run from 12:50 pm – 3:00 pm

At the completion of the sessions, we will make our way to the chapel for refreshments and an opportunity for questions/discussion.

Our aim is for you to be a part of the class not just an observer. We will send details out around logon information and accessing the school network. You will be an interactive, independent, 21st Century Learner – be prepared to be challenged, curious and have fun.

We look forward to having you join us to gain an insight into how learning takes place at St Hilda’s.

Please RSVP to the school office by Monday 13th August with an indication of which session you would like to attend.

Year 11-13 Subject Selection – Portal reminder

The portal to enter your daughters 2019 Year 11-13 subject selection is now open and will close again on Monday 27 August. The portal can be accessed via the Parent Portal and the link in the online Academic Programme. Please get in touch with the school office in the first instance if you have forgotten your login details.

Tolcarne News

What a busy start to the term our students and staff have had at Tolcarne. With last internals due, pressure from upcoming exams and many many sports practices, games and tournaments, it was a timely reminder for the Seniors when the volunteer team from Life Matters came to talk about keeping ourselves well by using good copying strategies, and what to do when we recognize that others may need help.

This term the Koru program is all about having the courage to step outside our comfort zones, and what that can feel like. Last Wednesday the Year 10’s gave Acro-yoga a really good go. Thank you to Hannah and Anna who came to instruct the class.

Health and Safety

Please do not encourage your daughter to walk along the school side of Royal Terrace where the building is progressing. She could be endangered with heavy equipment and truck movements.

Tree Planting Event – Town Belt Kaitiaki

The Town Belt Kaitiaki are a Dunedin wide student-led group chaired by Stephanie Post and they would like to invite you to their ‘Project Gold Tree Planting Event’ taking place on Sunday 12 August from 10 am – 12.30 pm at Woodhaugh Gardens (by the duck pond).

You can help to celebrate the students’ goals and vision to plant 300 trees, enjoy a BBQ and learn about the original Arbor Day and the tree choice for the site.

They ask that you:

Wear appropriate shoes and clothes

Bring gardening gloves and spade (if you can)

Bring food and drink for yourself (the food is a small snack)

INVITE OTHER PEOPLE!

For catering purposes, please RSVP to Claudia Babirat at townbelt.edcoordinator@gmail.com

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school, we will be talking with students and plan to run a parent seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

Return of 2017 Cups and Trophies

It is that time of year again where we ask for the return of all cups and trophies presented in 2017. This assists us in the preparation of this year’s awards evening and Prize Giving.

Careers News and Events

A reminder to check the Sports Draws page of the website to keep up to date with match times. The netball draws are posted each week in readiness for the weekend’s matches.

From the Guidance Network

Sheila Achar Josephs, PhD, psychologist in Princeton, New Jersey, talks about how we can help to address perfectionism tendencies in teens, reducing anxiety and allowing them to live healthier, happier lives. Click here to read her advice.

Student Achievement

2018 Otago regional Science and Technology Fair

A number of students completed projects for the 2018 Otago Science and Technology
fair. This was an opportunity to showcase their scientific thinking and an understanding
of the accepted scientific investigative process, as well as their creative and
communication skills.

The following girls did particularly well, gaining one or more prizes.

St Hilda’s hosted the annual Winter Sports Quad Tournament at the start of the week with Hockey, Netball, Badminton and Debating teams from St Hilda’s, Columba, Craighead and St Margaret’s giving it their all. After a fantastic two days of action, Columba College ended up being the eventual winners with St Margaret’s in 2nd, St Hilda’s 3rd and Craighead 4th

A Note from The Principal

The building of our Visual Arts Centre is coming along. If you are interested in the progress, you can view our time-lapse camera at Arts Centre Camera (NOTE: you must refresh the page to get the latest image)

The school quad is presently being transformed for the Year 11 Winter Dance. Ms McLanachan and the Year 11 Dance committee have been very busy and I am sure it will be a fantastic evening.

On another note, I am thoroughly looking forward to the annual Winter Quadrangular Tournament next week which we are hosting. This is played between St Hilda’s, Columba, St Margaret’s and Craighead Diocesan, and involves the sports of Hockey, Debating, Badminton and Netball.

Good luck everyone!

Jackie Barron

Back to the Future

We would like to invite you in to experience what school is like in 2018.

On Friday 17th August we are going to run open classrooms. This will allow you to come and join in the learning. You will have the option of a morning or afternoon and within this time you will get to experience four classes.

The morning session will run from 8:40 am – 10:40 am

The afternoon session will run from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

At the completion of the sessions, we will make our way to the chapel for refreshments and an opportunity for questions/discussion.

Our aim is for you to be a part of the class not just an observer. We will send details out around logon information and accessing the school network. You will be an interactive, independent, 21st Century Learner – be prepared to be challenged, curious and have fun.

We look forward to having you join us to gain an insight into how learning takes place at St Hilda’s.

Please RSVP to the school office by Monday 13th August with an indication of which session you would like to attend.

Seminars Reminder: Anxiety, depression and unrelenting standards of perfection. How to Parent for Wellbeing

New Zealand is leading the world in appalling youth mental health statistics.

Come and hear what your daughters have told us about their own feelings and experiences and explore research based strategies on how to support our young women by parenting for Wellbeing.

These workshops will be really useful for all parents. You are welcome to bring friends, family and colleagues to share these interactive workshops.

We all need to be involved in the increasingly important discussions around youth and wellbeing.

Year 11-13 Subject Selection – Portal reminder

The portal to enter your daughters 2019 Year 11-13 subject selection is now open and will close again on Monday 27 August. The portal can be accessed via the Parent Portal and the link in the online Academic Programme. Please get in touch with the school office in the first instance if you have forgotten your login details.

Course Design Evening

Our Course Design Evening is being held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday 7 August – for parents and caregivers of Year 10 – 12 students.

The evening will be focused on looking at the resources that are available to assist families to make an informed course selection for 2019.

The evening will begin with a presentation on the St Hilda’s Graduate in the Chapel followed by three mini workshops focussing on designing your daughters course for 2019 and beyond.

Fundraiser for Sings Hilda

Bring along your car and support Sings Hilda on Saturday 4th August 11 am – 3 pm at Beaurepairs on the corner of McBride Street and Andersons Bay Road (opposite Mitre 10 Mega).

Town Hall Mayoral Welcome

International students from around Dunedin today were invited to the Town Hall to be welcomed by our Mayor Dave Cull. There was a wonderful Kapa Haka to greet everyone, information about the city and things Dunedin has to offer were showcased as well as a chance to mingle with students from other schools. We even managed to get a picture with Councilor Chris Garey.

Tree Planting Event – Town Belt Kaitiaki

The Town Belt Kaitiaki are a Dunedin wide student-led group chaired by Stephanie Post and they would like to invite you to their ‘Project Gold Tree Planting Event’ taking place on Sunday 12 August from 10 am – 12.30 pm at Woodhaugh Gardens (by the duck pond).

You can help to celebrate the students’ goals and vision to plant 300 trees, enjoy a BBQ and learn about the original Arbor Day and the tree choice for the site.

They ask that you:

Wear appropriate shoes and clothes

Bring gardening gloves and spade (if you can)

Bring food and drink for yourself (the food is a small snack)

INVITE OTHER PEOPLE!

For catering purposes, please RSVP to Claudia Babirat at townbelt.edcoordinator@gmail.com

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school, we will be talking with students and plan to run a parent seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

From the Guidance Network

Student Achievement

Well done to the girls who had garments in the Hokonui Fashion Awards last weekend. They looked fabulous on the catwalk and special congratulations to Lucy Girvan who was Highly Commended in her section and Amelia Phillips who was placed second in her section

A Note from The Principal

Welcome back to an exciting Term 3. This is a great term for consolidating learning, building skills for key sports and cultural events, and sharing some special community activities. I hope you all had a relaxing and rewarding break and are ready for the excitement that lies ahead!

Thank you to students, staff, the PFA, Tolcarne and the rowing parents who all contributed towards a very successful Open Evening last night.

The theme of the evening was “Can Do” and from the word go our guests were treated to Stephanie Post playing the violin, Sarah Lee on piano, the Kapa Haka welcome and Sings Hilda performing one of its items for the national Big Sing Finale.

In classrooms prospective Year 7 and 9 students were invited to join in activities, sample delicious chocolate cupcakes developed for gluten free eating and learn about the problem solving required to develop a functioning robot.

The Year 12 and 13 guides managed to answer the myriad of questions with grace and ease and families enjoyed a cup of tea in the Chapel at the end of the night provided by the PFA.

Jackie Barron

Back to the Future

We would like to invite you in to experience what school is like in 2018.

On Friday 17th August we are going to run open classrooms. This will allow you to come and join in the learning. You will have the option of a morning or afternoon and within this time you will get to experience four classes.

Our aim is for you to be a part of the class not just an observer. You will be an interactive, independent, 21st Century Learner – be prepared to be challenged, curious and have fun.

There will be more details to come but we will require you to RSVP for this event.

Seminars : Anxiety, depression and unrelenting standards of perfection. How to Parent for Wellbeing

New Zealand is leading the world in appalling youth mental health statistics.

Come and hear what your daughters have told us about their own feelings and experiences and explore research based strategies on how to support our young women by parenting for Wellbeing.

These workshops will be really useful for all parents. You are welcome to bring friends, family and colleagues to share these interactive workshops.

We all need to be involved in the increasingly important discussions around youth and wellbeing.

See the dates below for our upcoming seminars. Venues to be confirmed.

Balclutha – 2 pm Sunday 19 August

Gore – 5 pm Sunday 19 August

Cromwell – 7 pm Monday 20 August

Oamaru – 7 pm Wednesday 22 August

Dunedin – 7 pm Thursday 30 August

Please put these dates in your diary. More details will follow.

Year 11-13 Subject Selection

The portal to enter your daughters 2019 Year 11-13 subject selection is now open and will close again on Monday 27 August. The portal can be accessed via the Parent Portal and the link in the online Academic Programme. Please get in touch with the school office in the first instance if you have forgotten your login details.

Alongside the recent release of the Senior Academic Programme, we warmly invite parents/caregivers of current Year 10-12 students to our Course Design Evening, which will be held at 6:00pm on Tuesday 7 August. The evening will be focused on looking at the resources that are available to assist families to make an informed course selection for 2019.

The evening involves a series of workshops allowing you to rotate around three mini workshops on:

Call for Host Families

We are still short of host families for around 12 girls from Craighead and St Margarets for the upcoming Winter Sports Quad Tournament which takes place from Sunday 5th August to Tuesday 7th of August

If you are able to host 1 or 2 of these girls for the tournament please see the details and link below for more information, any assistance would be greatly appreciated at this time.

Winter Sports Quadrangular Tournament

This year it is St Hilda’s turn to host the annual Winter Quadrangular Tournament. This is played between St Hilda’s, Columba, St Margaret’s and Craighead Diocesan, and involves the sports of Hockey, Debating, Badminton and Netball.

The tournament is taking place on Sunday 5th August – Tuesday 7th August and will require billet families to host girls from St Margaret’s and Craighead on the Sunday and Monday evening, along with providing dinner on Sunday evening, and lunch and dinner on Monday.

We need billet families for around 70 students and will require the support of the families of girls who are not directly involved in the quadrangular tournament themselves to host this number of girls. We would greatly appreciate it if you were able to accommodate these girls into your homes as they do for us.

This tournament is unable to go ahead without the generous support of our St Hilda’s community hosting students from these travelling schools.

Please note: Girls being hosted do not need their own room, unlike some other exchanges we have, so room sharing is more than acceptable in these circumstances.

Please indicate on via the link below if you are able to assist with billeting.

All the best to the senior textile girls who have entered their garments in the Hokonui Fashion Awards which are being judged tonight. It will be a very special thing to see their designs on the catwalk.

New date for PFA AGM

The PFA AGM which had to be postponed last term is now taking place on Tuesday 31st July. This meeting will take place in the Library from 7pm.

Staffing

Just a reminder that we have some minor changes to staffing this term as we adjust our timetable around learning initiatives.

We are delighted to announce that Anna Garthwaite has been appointed to the role of Specialist Classroom Teacher. This role encompasses leading pedagogical practice and development in the school, and assisting teachers with curriculum and classroom interests.

This role has a time allocation with it, which means Dr Townsley will pick up two hours of Year 7 Maths and Mrs Barron will assist with Year 7 and 8 Reading.

Miss Dunn and Ms Bartley will be working together to develop a new Year 9 and 10 Science Programme in the first 5 weeks of the term. Science specialist, Mrs Astwood will teach Mrs Bartley’s Year 11 Science class and Ms Dunn’s Year 10 Science class for that time.

We are lucky to have a teacher of Mrs Astwood’s calibre to call on, while our staff commit to enhancing our current courses to further assist girls with their learning.

Don’t forget to have your say – NCEA Review process

The Ministry of Education is presently looking at ways to strengthen NCEA and is exploring a variety of ways to gain feedback from different stakeholders. They want to hear from parents and students and ask you to join in the conversation to submit your ideas, experiences and suggestions for change: conversation.education.govt.nz/NCEA

We urge you to visit this site to see the ways in which you can give your views.

As a school we will be talking with students and plan to run a parent seminar on 12th September as part of the consultation process.

Careers News and Events

A reminder to check the Sports Draws page of the website to keep up to date with match times. The netball draws are posted each week in readiness for the weekend’s matches.

From the Guidance Network

Chapel Matters

In the church’s calendar, with all its seasons, like Lent and Advent, this term sees us right in the middle of what is called Ordinary Time. It is called “ordinary” not because it is plain or boring but because it is to do with counting the weeks between Easter and Christmas – and when we count things off, or when we put them in order, like 1st, 2nd, or 3rd we call these “ordinal numbers.” This week right now is the 17th week of Ordinary Time, because it is the 17th week since Easter.

One of the things about Ordinary Time is that it is a chance to put into practice things that can help us grow, spiritually, emotionally, in terms of who we are as people in this world. The liturgical colour for Ordinary Time is green as this primarily symbolises growth, and just as seedlings take time to grow into strong trees, the skills and attitudes that we might want to cultivate in our lives also take time to grow and bear fruit. Ordinary Time is a chance to cultivate good skills and habits, to practice things that are good for us (and good for those around us), things which can be quite simple and ordinary – like being kind or grateful, or praying and being mindful – but which actually have an extraordinary power to change our lives.

Student Achievement

Our 9A and 10A Netball teams spent the first few days of the Holidays competing against the best junior netball teams in the South Island at the South Island Secondary School Junior Netball Tournament held in Christchurch. Both teams doing extremely well with the year 10A team placing 4th and the year 9A’s also placing a very commendable 6th place. Both teams had a great tournament and are looking forward to finishing off the Saturday competition strongly in the coming weeks

We also had our Rugby team away competing in the South Island Secondary School Girls Rugby Festival in Oamaru. With a mixture of girls ranging from year 9 to year 13 the girls played some fantastic Rugby finishing 5th overall

Olivia and Emma Andrew represented St Hilda’s at the South Island Secondary School Swim Meet in Blenheim and achieved some fantastic results in doing so